Cartes de larrière-pays (1630-1870)

Abstract

Contained within the 3rd Edition (1957) of the Atlas of Canada is a plate that shows a series of redrawn reproductions of historical maps. The first three maps deal with the eastern interior of Canada, the first of them showing the work of Champlain, Canadas first great explorer. His work was extended into the Great Lakes, often by missionaries such a Dollier and Galinee, and later recorded by Franquelin, the first great map compiler of Canada. The next three maps are concerned with the western interior where, at first, geographical knowledge was very conjectural. This is indicated on the combined maps of Delisle and Buache - the western portion being the work of Delisle and the eastern portion and the inset the work of Buache. But gradually, as the fur-trading companies extended their operations, more precise knowledge was obtained of the area between Hudson Bay, the Rocky Mountains and the Beaufort Sea, as the Pond map of 1787 illustrates. Later, geographical knowledge was gained of the Cordillera